Chapter Seventeen: Cultivation [2]

The following day.

Golden rays appeared on the eastern horizon, strands of morning light breaking through the darkness to illuminate the earth. The sun peeked out, slowly rising into the sky.

The once silent Southern Prince City was bustling again.

When Liu Ji arrived at the rear courtyard, he found that Liu Heng seemed to have been waiting for quite some time already. Beside him stood a wooden barrel as tall as a man.

Liu Ji walked over to the barrel and discovered inside a murky, slightly viscous dark purple liquid. He frowned, for it was sharp and pungent.

He asked, "Father, what is this?"

Liu Heng replied, "Strengthening Essence. It's another secret recipe passed down through the Liu family, made to enhance the strength of the meridians. It's specifically for assisting those who are practicing the Supreme Heavenly Steel Art for the first time, like you. After all, your meridians are not yet strong, making it difficult to withstand the wild spiritual energy and steel qi!"

Liu Ji nodded.

Though confident in the strength of his current constitution, he knew that extra precautions for his own safety were always welcome.

Liu Heng said, "Take off your clothes and get in."

Liu Ji nodded, and after undressing, carefully and nervously stepped into the barrel. The first sensation was a chill.

Sticky, too.

Strangely comfortable...

Before he could react further, the chill slowly faded, replaced by warmth—a far more pleasant feeling.

Especially...

Just then, Liu Heng said, "Begin practicing the core technique I taught you yesterday. Remember, you must not be impatient; not even the slightest mistake is allowed!"

With his eyes closed, Liu Ji nodded.

Thankfully, the barrel was spacious enough for him to assume the posture required for the core technique. He recalled Liu Heng's demonstration from yesterday, mimicking the movements with his hands, and gradually sensed warmth rising within him.

After cycling through all the postures, Liu Ji distinctly felt his chest growing hot. Looking down, he saw a mysterious pattern formed by light connecting various points of his body, slowly receding.

Liu Heng said, "Empty your mind, hold your breath, focus your spirit, clear away distractions, and channel the Supreme Heavenly Steel Art. Carefully sense the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, draw it into your body, and refine it into steel qi along the prescribed route!"

"Yes!"

Liu Ji dared not neglect a single detail. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began circulating his blood and qi according to the path of the Supreme Heavenly Steel Art.

However, as he circulated his blood and qi, he felt a distinct blockage, making the process inefficient—clearly some meridians were obstructed.

After a full cycle through his meridians, he clearly sensed an unusual, vivid energy outside his body.

That energy felt mottled and wild.

But upon closer inspection, beneath the wild chaos was something...

Mysterious.

"So this is spiritual energy?" Liu Ji pondered. Suddenly, Liu Heng's stern voice rang in his ear: "Don't lose focus! Continue circulating the Supreme Heavenly Steel Art!"

Startled, Liu Ji quickly gathered himself, continuing to channel spiritual energy into his body, guiding it through his meridians as prescribed.

The moment spiritual energy entered his meridians, Liu Ji felt a sudden, unexpected swelling pain in a certain part of his body.

Fortunately, the pain was bearable.

Yet as more wild spiritual energy was absorbed into his meridians, the swelling pain intensified, becoming excruciating.

It was as though someone were tearing at his meridians, or stabbing him with a thousand needles. Gritting his teeth, he couldn't help but feel his eyelids twitch.

Sweat poured from his forehead like rain.

Liu Ji clenched his fists, his sharp nails digging into his palms without him realizing. Even though his constitution score had reached about seventy, he still struggled to endure such unbearable agony!

It was clear this pain was not something an ordinary person could withstand. He fought desperately to endure, knowing he could not fail now.

If he failed, it would leave a shadow in his heart.

Next time he attempted the Supreme Heavenly Steel Art, it would only be harder—much like failing a driver's test in his past life: those who failed the first time would inevitably feel anxious and indecisive when attempting it again.

Some might even tremble with fear!

Luckily, he had passed his driving test in one try in his previous life...

And Liu Ji believed that if he failed his first attempt at the Supreme Heavenly Steel Art, the shadow left would be even greater!

He must not fail!

He emptied his mind, cleared all distractions, subconsciously forcing himself to forget the pain, not to focus on the unbearable agony.

Amazingly, the pain throughout his limbs and bones diminished noticeably, making him quietly rejoice.

He continued channeling the Supreme Heavenly Steel Art, drawing more spiritual energy into his body, circulating it through his meridians along the prescribed path.

As the spiritual energy surged like a wild stream through his meridians, he could feel some of them blocked.

He used spiritual energy to break through the obstructed meridians, enduring tremendous pain once more.

The pain of breaking through a blocked meridian was even greater, but fortunately, for now, he only needed to clear the main meridians required for practicing the Supreme Heavenly Steel Art; the rest could be addressed later.

Thus, Liu Ji's primary goal was to clear the blocked meridians while enduring the pain brought by the wild spiritual energy.

Watching Liu Ji, brows furrowed and sweating profusely, Liu Heng was somewhat surprised. He had expected Liu Ji to be tortured into screaming out loud by the pain, but the scene before him was quite unexpected.

Rubbing his chin, he muttered, "That's odd. When I first practiced the Supreme Heavenly Steel Art, I wasn't nearly as composed!"

His face was full of wonder. Back when his own father forced him to practice the Supreme Heavenly Steel Art, even with the Strengthening Essence, the pain drove him to howl like a slaughtered pig—utterly miserable!

But now, why wasn't this boy crying out?

At least he should cry out once!

Could it be that this boy's willpower was stronger than his own? This thought made his expression even more peculiar. He coughed lightly and continued watching.

At this moment, Liu Ji was far from enjoying the situation as Liu Heng imagined. He could feel that, even though his meridians were strengthened by the Essence, their hardness increased, they were still damaged by the wild spiritual energy.

Some meridians were even snapped in two, blood and qi rampaging.

Panicked, he knew that letting the rampaging blood and qi wreak havoc in his body could trigger a butterfly effect, with unpredictable consequences!

Just then, he suddenly sensed some medicinal power from the thick Strengthening Essence enveloping him seeping into his body.

It swiftly repaired his broken meridians, and before long, everything was restored, astonishing him and allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

From then on, he ignored the pain, focusing entirely on channeling the wild spiritual energy along the prescribed route of the Supreme Heavenly Steel Art.

Whenever he encountered a blocked meridian, he endured the pain and forced it open. The feeling of clearing a blockage...

Utterly exhilarating!

Yet as he broke through one after another, his meridians were battered and ruined by the wild spiritual energy, but thankfully, the Essence was there. Even if a meridian broke, it would be swiftly repaired.

And so, the sun rose in the east and set in the west.

On the western horizon, the crimson sun slowly sank below the earth, night once again enveloping the land. In Southern Prince City, lights glowed in every household.

Even at night, the city's lively atmosphere only slightly diminished. On the wide streets, vendors shouted, people chatted, children laughed and played...

And from the pleasure houses, the sweet voices of girls called out, "Come in, sir!" "Sir, please come inside!" Occasionally, a well-dressed man would stride inside with pride, unaware that a blushing woman followed closely behind...

Within the Southern Prince Mansion, lights shone brightly, with maids and guards performing their duties.

Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed above the mansion.

...

...

PS: First update.

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